Nursery Places for 3 and 4 year olds

Flexible Childcare for 3 & 4 Year Olds

From September 2017 many working families will be able to get up to 30 hours of funded childcare a week.

This extra free childcare, which is worth around £2,280 per year, aims to help working families by reducing the cost of childcare and will support more parents into work or to work more hours if they want to.

Eligibility for 30 hours funded childcare

To be eligible families must meet the following criteria:

both parents must be working (or the sole parent in a single parent family)

each parent must have a weekly income equivalent to 16 hours at national minimum or living wage

neither parent has an income of more than £100,000 per year

Parents do not necessarily need to actually work 16 hours a week, but earnings must be equal to 16 hours of work per week at the national minimum wage. This includes parents on zero hours contracts who meet the criteria.

Families where one parent does not work (or neither parent works) will not usually be eligible. In some circumstances a family may be eligible where both parents are employed but one (or both parents) is temporarily away from the workplace on maternity or paternity leave, adoption leave or statutory sick pay or where one parent is employed and one parent has substantial caring responsibilities or is disabled or incapacitated. These are both based on receipt of specific benefits.

Eligibility will be assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

If you meet the eligibility criteria you should be able to take up a place if:

you have a valid eligibility code from HMRC

it is the term after your child's third birthday, or later until the child reaches compulsory school age

you received your code from HMRC prior to the term in which you would like your child to start their 30 hours place

Don't forget even if you are not entitled to the 30 hours extended entitlement your child will still be entitled to the universal 15 hours of free early education.

If eligible your child will qualify for the funded early years education until they are in a reception class or reach compulsory school age.